Stephen King once said, “To write is human, to edit is divine.” As an editor, I love that sentiment, but I know that many writers are not so sure what exactly an editor does. What’s the difference between a development editor and a copy editor? When...

As any good writer knows, feedback is essential to the magic that will be your finished product. As the first group of readers exposed to your work before publication, it’s a beta reader's job to give you an honest opinion and reaction to your writing...

Up until a few years ago, reprint rights were the big dog on the block. Your publisher would acquire the rights to your book and produce it in hard cover. That was the way things were done for the most part. Any other form of the book was something they...

So you finished your book? That's great! But now comes the hard part. How can you self-edit so that it's in good enough shape for critical readers, agents, and publishers? How do you know if you need a professional editor? Bestselling author Derek...

Read the acknowledgement notes of any book and there you will find a list of people that have helped the author create his or her book. Most authors thank almost a page of people for their help, because there are so many kinds of feedback available....

Thanks to computers, self-publishing has become much easier. Gone are the days of laboriously sweating over a gigantic print press, or begging a publisher to agree to give your work a chance. These days everything an author needs to bring their work...

You just put the last period on the first draft of your manuscript. Now what? Resist the urge to go back to page 1 to start editing. You’ll get lost in details. Instead, edit with a plan that will guide you from fixing big picture issues like structure...